Valera Notes

End of 2025, beginning of 2026. Last months in Singapore. Somehow feels like years ago.

I will repeat it again. If you publish your paper in a predatory journal, it will hurt your university application.

Another relevant post from 2024: https://t.me/valeranotes/723

SAT exam is tomorrow. As someone who took the SAT five times back in 2017, I know this can be stressful. Make sure you take a break from preparation tonight. The marginal improvement from these extra 2–3 hours is much lower than the risk of burning out before the exam. Complete a few practice questions before the exam to switch on your brain. And you good to go!

Call mid toast Bukhara, March 2026

My father’s birthday is today, September 10. My best friends’ fathers’ birthdays are on September 11, 14, and 15. This is a wild coincidence. The chance of four fathers having birthdays within a six-day window, all on different days, is roughly 1 in 200,000 or 0.0005%.

Thriving in college > getting into college

All the sleepless nights and effort are worth it when you receive such messages from all over the world. Our guys are stepping into highly competitive spaces. And I am glad they are genuinely thriving there and take the most out of that experience

i got these 14 schools, believe me, I was just struggling to find universities. Ur project is useful for me

I want to commit to answering every message by the end of each day. Measured how many chats people start with me. On average, it is 15–20 chats per hour! Literally, I can have a 3-hour meeting and, by the end of it, have around 40 new chats with questions ranging from high-profile meetings to basic admissions questions. It is good to be in demand, I guess. But it is now a question of sustainability, and sanity tbh. Will analyze how to systematize the replies. Develop an AI bot. Or hire another Vice. But gotta resolve this issue asap.

A German philosophy lecturer and media professional came to Freshman's office today. We spoke about everything from Baudrillard's Simulacra and Simulation to Cyberpunk 2077. It really made me think about how much I miss my college days, when we would sit on the 22nd floor of our dorm, overlooking Singapore, and talk about whatever came to mind. College days are such a romantic and idealistic period, maybe the only time when you can dedicate yourself so fully to exploration.

35 years is young for a country. But we have accomplished so much. Few places have such forward-looking and excited youths, which says a lot about our future. Happy Independence Day, Uzbekistan! 🇺🇿

After the talk with a prominent private equity investor and finance professor at Freshman: —“Guys, I hope that my talk today was not too challenging. For example, what do you do?” he asked the youngest-looking participant, who was 13. —“I research radiation shielding.” The entire room laughed. —“Impressive. And what do you do?” he asked, pointing to a different student. —“I am a 10th grader. I am researching mortgage markets and will present my research in the Czech Republic soon.” The laughter intensified. Our alumni are next-level.

Silk Road Finance & Tech Forum Said, Daler, and I visited the Forum today. It was great connecting with old friends, partners, and students. Very solid for the first major FinTech conference in Uzbekistan.

The problem is not that you are socially awkward, lack skills or are lazy. Everyone is to an extent. The problem is that you let those weaknesses stop you from trying again and again until you get it right.

Mark my words. You will see a unicorn from Freshman alumni by 2036.

Question from an attendee at a recent Freshman event: —Hey, you also work here? —Yeah, sort of. —What do you do? —Helping here and there. Decoupling your personal image from the company brand has been one of the most challenging but rewarding goals. Keeping it low-key allows you to focus on things that matter.